‘This is not going away’: Nevada ‘fake electors’ case refiled in Carson City

Attorney General Aaron Ford announced Thursday his office refiled charges in the so-called “fake electors” case in Carson City, months after the case failed in Clark County and four years after the alleged actions took place.

“We have filed these charges in Carson City as a preemptive measure to ensure that the statute of limitations on this charge does not lapse,” Ford said in a statement. “My office still believes that Clark County is an appropriate venue for this case and will continue to seek a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court to return to the Eighth Judicial District Court.”

In December 2023, Ford announced the six Republican electors who submitted fake documents declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada in 2020 had been indicted by a grand jury in Clark County District Court and were charged with offering a false instrument for filing and uttering forged instruments.

A Clark County judge dismissed the case in June 2024, ruling that she lacked jurisdiction to hear the case in Clark because the alleged crimes occurred in Carson City and Douglas County. Ford’s office appealed the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court.

In his statement Thursday, Ford said his office disagreed with the judge’s finding that the venue was improper and is continuing to seek to overturn it. By filing the case in Carson City, however, his office is preserving the legal rights to “ensure that these fake electors do not escape justice.”

If the Nevada Supreme Court rules in favor of the office of the attorney general, the charges filed in Carson City will be dropped, according to the attorney general’s office.

“The actions the fake electors undertook in 2020 violated Nevada criminal law and were direct attempts to both sow doubt in our democracy and undermine the results of a free and fair election,” said Ford, who today also confirmed his intentions to run for governor in 2026. “Justice requires that these actions not go unpunished. This is not going away.”

The new case filed in Carson City charges the defendants with a charge of forgery by uttering forged instruments. Those six electors, who originally had pleaded not guilty, are Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, RNC National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid, Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law, Nevada GOP Vice Chairman Jim Hindle III, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice. Electors directed requests for comment to their attorneys.

Attorney Richard Wright, representing McDonald, said in an email that the refiling of the dismissed charges “looks like a political move by the Attorney General who announced today his plans to run for governor.” Wright suggested Ford should “heed the advice of Will Rogers” who said “if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.’”

“We will withhold further comment and address the issues in court,” Wright said in the email.

State v McDonald, Et Al Complaint by Jessica Hill on Scribd

Background in the case

After the 2020 election, the six electors gathered outside of the Nevada Legislature building on a cold December day to sign the certificates giving the state’s electoral votes to Trump — despite Joe Biden winning the Silver State by more than 30,000 votes.

The document titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Nevada” was sent to the president of the Senate, the archivist of the U.S., the Nevada secretary of state; and the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, according to the office of the attorney general.

That same day, however, Nevada’s real electors cast their Electoral College votes remotely, with then-Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske presiding, awarding the six votes to Biden.

With Trump winning the 2024 election, those “fake electors” selected by the Nevada Republican Party are now real electors for Nevada. They will meet in Carson City on Dec. 17 to cast their ballots for Trump.

Ford had joined other attorneys general who filed similar charges against Republican electors in their states who tried to give electoral votes to Trump, though he waited longer to take action than others, saying his office took the time to ensure it gathered sufficient facts and evidence to pursue charges.

Some of the evidence used in the case, for instance, was video footage posted on social media of the electors signing the documents, as well as the certificates with the electors’ signatures.

A lengthy legal battle ensued, with defendants calling the case a political prosecution. They argued there was no evidence of any of the alleged crimes taking place in Clark County, and the actions the electors took were a form of exercising their First Amendment rights to criticize Nevada’s election processes.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.